Welcome Home
by Zan Artemis
Summary: We didn't understand each other and hurt each other over and over again. Even at those times you were always kind. The fading memories are too brilliant. Even now I remember...Even now I love you.
1. Chapter 1

Howdy, guys! This is my first shoujo fic in a while, so please don't attack it. I know it's not all that great, especially in the beginning, but I figure those who are reading this have more than likely read at least part of the series, so they know what the main characters look like and I don't have to go into too much detail. Anyway, please review with what you did/didn't like.

By the way, the lyrics I use as the summary come from Gackt's song "Last Song."

* * *

A small cluster of students mulled about a corner of the courtyard. Their uniforms didn't match; they didn't belong to the school. _What are they doing here?_ was the thought that flew through the minds of the three third-years walking down the path toward the dorms from the cafeteria. The three paused a short distance away and stood, watching and listening, as the cluster of boys—still in middle school, by the look of them—snickered and shrieked with laughter and encouragement. The tallest of the three belongers, a lanky blonde,strode towards them leisurely. He leaned over their bent backs to peer at what they were doing. His eyes widened and he gasped at the sight of the poor mangled creature in their midst. 

"You little bastards!" he shrieked and grabbed the nearest boy. The rest scattered.

"Nakatsu, what the hell are you doing?" His two friends came running.

He was shaking the boy, and shaking with anger himself. He jerked his head toward where the boys had huddled. "See what they were doing!"

The two others, a boy and a girl, looked, and they, too, began shaking with indignation. The girl gathered the quaking creature up into her arms. "I'm taking it back to our room, Sano," she said quietly. Her voice was hard as stone and just as jagged. Her roommate nodded and let her go.

Ashiya Mizuki cradled the fallen creature in her arms. In her three years of studying at Osaka High, a private all-boys academy, she'd _never_ seen boys act so cruelly and immaturely. A spark of anger had built up inside her, warming her stomach from the cold disbelief that had settled at the sight of their inhumane behaviour. After half of her journey back to the dorm, however, the anger, too, had dissipated, and she now harbored intense maternal feelings toward the animal. But it was badly hurt; what could _she_ possibly do?

Mizuki turned to the only person who may know what she should do. Peering this way and that, she made sure she was alone and ducked down an empty corridor.

"Doctor!" she wailed, throwing open the door. "Doctor, I need your help!"

Umeda Hokuto jumped and dropped the bottle of isopropyl alcohol he'd been pouring into smaller bottles for the classroom first-aid kits. Shards of glass littered the floor at his feet, and the alcohol soaked into the leather of his boots. Now he smelled more like a hospital than merely a hospital wing. He sighed, slammed his open hands on the countertop, and whirled to face her. "_What_ is it _now_, Ashiya?"

He was confronted with the bleeding and injured animal. Umeda stood there a moment, blinking stupidly at it. "A kitten?"

"Can you help it, Doctor Umeda?" she asked anxiously, placing it on the counter gingerly. Absently she swept the bandages, cotton balls, and other miscellaneous items from the immediate area. Umeda glanced at the further mess she was making with raised eyebrows and a tightened mouth, then went to the shivering creature on the marble-top.

While Mizuki explained about the boys tormenting the cat, Umeda looked it over. Several cuts, shallow and deep alike, were buried beneath the fuzzy silver fur. The blood seeping from those wounds was matting, making it more difficult to determine the exact extent of its injuries. Mizuki stood by anxiously. The cat opened bewitching amber eyes and let out a pathetic whimper. It just lay there on the counter as if already tired of the world and life with it. Privately Mizuki agreed with the animal's silent declaration.

"She doesn't have any broken bones," the doctor said at long last, "but she does have some deep scrapes. They need to be looked at; she'll probably need stitches. You'll have to take her to a vet."

"But I don't know any veterinarians!" Mizuki protested, crestfallen. Water welled in her eyes. "Can't you do _anything_, doctor?"

He shook his head. "I'm not a vet, Ashiya. What do you expect me to do?"

"Something!" she shouted. "It needs help! Please!" The tears spilled down her cheeks. "Help her, please."

Umeda gave a long-suffering sigh and shoved his hand through his hair nearly knocking his glasses off in the process. His eyes darted back and forth from nothing to nothing as he considered her plea and the life of the animal on his counter. If he did nothing, the cat would surely die, but chances were equally likely that she would die even with his help. It was a fifty-fifty chance.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and sighed again. "There's no guarantee she'll pull through, even if I do try," he said slowly.

"At least you'll have tried."

He couldn't argue with that. Umeda sighed again, then stalked to the door and locked it. "Wash your hands, and rub down the countertop with alcohol. Fetch some gloves from the cabinet. I can't believe I'm doing this."

Nearly an hour had passed before Mizuki finally left the hospital wing. The mess she'd created had been cleaned, and the cat was resting in Umeda's office, still asleep from their homemade anesthesia. She'd played doctor's aid, fetching Umeda's tools and equipment while he worked. Several times he'd complained and whined about the crazy things she'd made him do over her stay at the school, but she couldn't help but think to herself that he always did everything in his power to help her, no matter how half-baked her plans were.

"I'll keep her here overnight to watch her," Umeda had said at their parting. "I don't know what you'll do with it, though—there's a strict no-animal rule in the dorms."

"We'll think of something," she'd answered.

"Ashiya, this is serious. You could get kicked out of the dorm, at the very least, suspended at the very most, if you're caught."

"What about Yujiro?"

"He doesn't live in the actual dorm." Umeda brushed his reddish hair back from his eyes again. "And if you do get caught, I swear I will kill you if you even mention I had any part in this scheme."

She nodded and hugged him. "Thank you, doctor."

Umeda stood there for a moment, then awkwardly patted her back. "Girls are so much hassle," he muttered, then sent her on her way.

Mizuki sighed and opened the door to her room. She wasn't surprised to see Nakatsu and Sano lounging around the room, waiting for her.

Nakatsu looked up, then launched himself at her. "Mizuki, I was so worried!" He burst into tears. "Don't _ever_ scare me like that! You just disappeared!"

A vein pulsed in Sano's forehead, and he punched Nakatsu in the back of the head. "Knock it off, Nakatsu. Mizuki's not your slave-boy."

Mizuki laughed, a little strained. "It's okay, Sano. I was with Umeda. He was helping me with the cat."

Nakatsu glanced up. "Speaking of, where is it?"

"Umeda's keeping it overnight for observation." Suddenly she was exhausted. Mizuki fell back across Sano's bed and threw her arm over her eyes. "She was hurt pretty bad, but she'll probably pull through."

Sano sat down beside her. "What do you want to do with it?"

She peered at him from behind her wrist. "Can we keep it?"

Nakatsu pulled the desk chair over and sat in it backwards. "We could take turns taking care of it."

"Isn't there a rule about pets, though?"

Mizuki nodded. "Umeda warned me. We could get suspended from school in the worst-case scenario."

"_If _we get caught," Nakatsu qualified quickly. Mizuki nodded and looked at Sano. It was up to him.

Sano sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What other choice do we have? We can't just abandon it."

There came a knock at the door, disrupting their conversation. Nanba Minami stuck his head in the doorway. "Ashiya, you have a parcel."

Sano raised his eyebrows. "_Another_?"

"This is… the fifth one? In two weeks?" Nakatsu watched Mizuki cross the room and take the box from Nanba. "Your brother again?"

Nanba invited himself in as the four crowded around the box. Mizuki slid a pocket-knife through the tape securing the envelope to the box. As with the other four, there was a letter in the envelope. Shizuki had written in English, and his handwriting was deplorable under best circumstances, so she had no problem reading it in front of them. If Shizuki spilled any of her secrets, like that she was a girl hiding in a boy's academy, they wouldn't know it.

She skimmed through the letter. "He says it's a laptop computer, and he set me up an email account."

"Another computer?" Nakatsu whistled under his breath. Shizuki had already sent her two desktops, and a cell phone. All he would say as to his motives for such elaborate and expensive gifts was that something had happened that made him appreciate his family all the more. The fourth box had been massive, containing her favourite cookies, candies, and snacks. As for the computers, she'd set one up in hers and Sano's room, while she'd given the other to Nakatsu. Both had internet access.

Sano waded through the pink and blue Styrofoam packing peanuts to uncover the sleek, two-inch-thick machine. He set it on the desk beside the desktop and opened it. A slip of yellow paper fluttered down to the floor. Mizuki picked it up.

"It's an English email account and password," she said. "Apparently he set this up with wireless satellite internet access." She dragged the chair back to the desk and sat down.

Nanba leaned over her shoulder as she punched in the address of the email site. "You've got mail," he murmured in her ear. She nodded absently.

Nakatsu shoved Nanba's head away from Mizuki's ear. "Back off. Don't be so touchy-feely with him!"

Sano hit him again. "You, too!" A vein pulsed in his forehead. He knew Mizuki's secret, and it irked him whenever _anybody _got too close to her. _She's too naïve for her own good._

But she was paying them no mind. She was reading one of the two emails in her inbox. The first was from an email address she did not recognize, the other from Shizuki. She decided the latter could wait—she clicked on the first by tapping the mouse square gently. What opened didn't make sense. Her brain read the lines of English text, but it did not compute, made no sense. She opened the second.

Sano recognized Shizuki's name and a few of the English words, but not enough to make any sense of the email. Nakatsu and Nanba were wrestling in the back of the room over who had the right to do what and why: they were no use. He rested his chin almost absently on the top of her head as he stared blankly at the screen. "What's it say?"

"My brother's getting married," she answered almost numbly. "I don't believe it…"

"He seemed nice enough; why shouldn't he be married?"

"No, that's not it. He sent me a plane ticket."

The boys stopped fighting and looked at her questioningly.

"I'm to be the best man at the wedding," she said. "He's making me go back to America."


	2. Chapter 2

"You're _what_?" Nakatsu fairly tripped over himself in a desperate attempt to grab Mizuki. He ended up in a heap at her feet under the desk, due in part to his own clumsiness and in most to Sano's tripping him. He sat up on his elbows. "For how long? When?"

Mizuki tapped the scrollbar, skimming through more of the email. "The plane takes off Friday. It's one-way."

Nanba raised an eyebrow. "One-way? You're not coming back?" Even Sano appeared disturbed.

She shrugged. Inside Mizuki felt cold and suspicious. Was this another one of Shizuki's schemes to have her come home? Shizuki didn't like the idea of his only little sister staying in a boy's school, but she thought he'd put that argument to rest after his last visit. And why had he sent her all that technology if he was just going to pull her home? A thought struck her: maybe he had been trying to gain her favor, thinking that if he gave her so much, she'd be more willing to do as he asked and come home, and stay there.

Sighing deeply, Mizuki rubbed her temples and brushed her hair from her eyes. A headache began to beat an annoying tempo behind her eyes.

Nanba, for all he was a bothersome playboy, knew how to read people. He grabbed Nakatsu by the collar and all but dragged him to the doorway. "Lights-out is in a few minutes," he said by way of explanation over Nakatsu's loud protests. "I'll just take blondie here on home on my way to make the rounds." He waved and stepped into the hall.

"Let me go, you giant prick!" Nakatsu yelled, struggling. "I live next door, dammit, I can walk myself home!" In his fighting, he managed to kick the door closed.

Sano watched her from the bed, oddly grateful for the respite. He too sighed. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Mizuki leaned back and tilted her head so he was upside-down from her perspective. "What should I do?"

"You could not-go," he suggested with a shrug.

"But it's his wedding, and I'm supposed to be the best man. That's a very important position."

Sano scooted back so he could lean against the wall and picked up his book from the headboard. "Just because the ticket is one-way, it doesn't mean you won't be coming back," he said rationally. "It's your last year; why should they uproot you? Isn't continuity of education important in America?"

She nodded slowly. "That's true. Besides, they can't keep me there. If nothing else, I could hawk the laptop and buy a ticket home!" Now she was grinning and pumping her fists, determined.

He blinked at her, momentarily taken aback. "You think of here as home?" _Hawk? _

Instantly she flushed and lowered her eyes. "Well, yeah… I mean, we've lived together for three years now. How could it be anything else?"

A warm glow spread through Sano's blood, and he smiled at her, but when she glanced up, he turned his eyes and coughed a little. Standing, he ruffled her hair. "Let's go. I'm hungry."

"But Nanba said lights-out…"

Sano stopped in the doorway and turned to her. Leaning at the waist so his lips were by her ear, he whispered, "If we don't get caught, who's to know?" He winked sensuously.

Mizuki blushed and turned her face away. "Okay," she mumbled and stood, still staring determinedly away from him, but when he hair shifted, he saw she was smiling.

"It sure is pretty out here." Mizuki's eyes shifted out of focus as she stared absently at the moon. Sano handed her a can of peach juice and a bun they'd bought from the vending machines. "I've never snuck out after hours."

He nodded. The companionable silence stretched between them. In the sky the moon hazed into obscurity behind the translucent clouds. For a few moments, the twain was plunged into darkness.

From the darkness to her left came a disembodied voice she could barely identify as belonging to Sano. "Why did you come here, Mizuki?"

The question caught her off guard, and she stared at him, wondering how to answer it without giving anything away. "I wanted to see you jump," she said slowly. "I told you that when I arrived three years ago."

"Tell me the real reason." His fingers brushed hers in the darkness. "That may have been part of it, but by no means all."

She laughed, a tad too forcefully. "What would make you think that?" Her voice sounded strained, even to her own ears. Mizuki changed the subject. "Brr! It's kind of cold up here, isn't it?" Sitting up straight, she wrapped her arms around herself and pulled her knees to her chest. "Guess I shouldn't have worn shorts, huh? I don't understand, it was so warm earlier."

Silence from the darkness beside her, then a few muffled sounds. A warm cloth fell over her head and draped over her shoulders. "Don't stay up here too late." Muffled footsteps, then the door to the inside opened, casting his silhouette across the flat roof. The black shape of his shadow brushed over her toes, and then it was gone as its caster disappeared behind the heavy door.

Mizuki slid her arms into the jacket, reveling in the warmth and scent of him. "I made him angry again," she sighed to the stars. "I have that talent, just ticking him off."

The stars twinkled their knowledge back at her, trying to explain the reasoning behind the complexity of human emotions, perhaps, but the wisdom escaped her understanding.

Then an odd thing happened. A warm wetness struck the back of her hand where it rested atop her knees. She hadn't noticed her body trembling until she started to cry. Four days left, and he was angry with her. Mizuki hugged her knees closer and wrapped her arms around her shins, dropping her forehead onto her bare knees. For a moment she allowed herself to cry, then stood and dusted her overalls off. _Boys don't cry_, she reminded herself sternly. _They fix the situation. _Mizuki rubbed her eyes hard with the palms of her hands to eradicate any trace of the womanly weakness. That's what she would have to do: fix her relation with Sano.

Again.

The diamonds dangling in the velvety night smiled at their child as she found her strength.

* * *

He leaned against the closed door and shut his eyes, silently berating himself. _Why do I always do that? _he asked himself. _Now she'll cry_. Staring at the ground in silent thought, he began the trek back to their room.

No matter what he did or didn't do, she always ended up crying. He never even knew he was hurting her until he saw the tears. They fell like acid on his heart.

"Dammit!" His fist connected with the wall with somewhat less force than required to fracture the bones. "_Why _do I always hurt her? It shouldn't happen this way! I lo… I…"

He sighed and sank to the ground in a corner, the heel of his hand pressed against his mouth. Sano glared into the darkness, the truth radiating from him in waves. "I love her," he whispered to his palm. The walls supported his truth.

Suddenly a bright light shone into his eyes. Sano lifted his wrist to his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision. "Who's there?"

"Students should be in their rooms after lights-out. What are you doing out here?"

Inwardly he groaned. The vice principal, a small, robust man, usually roamed the halls, checking for fugitives sneaking out. It seemed night watch was his only job—he was never seen during the day. Umeda said his weight was the reason, while some of the other teachers said he was an anti-social insomniac. The students called him a vampire.

"I needed some air," he said vacantly. "My roommate and I had a fight."

"Where's he?" Beady eyes gleamed from the cast-off of the flashlight.

"In our room." All he had to do now was pray Mizuki didn't stumble along to ruin his story.

"If you have a problem with your roommate, take it up with your RA _before _lights out," the vice principal snapped. "I'll let it go this once. Get back to your room. But be warned," he added as Sano picked himself up from the floor, "if I hear anything else from you, you'll be suspended. This school takes discipline very seriously."

Sano nodded and bowed. "I'm sorry. Please excuse any inconvenience I may have caused." Though his words and actions were respectful, his attitude and body language said "hardass." When he turned the corner and was out of sight of the principal, Sano stopped and leaned against the wall. He could hear the principal continue down the hall towards the door to the roof. He wasn't being followed. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sano began towards the vending machines at the end of the hall. Arguing with Mizuki make him thirsty again.

He stopped short; his heart skipped a beat. _The roof_! Mizuki was still on the roof! He turned to go to her, to help her somehow, when he heard the door open.

The vice principal shouted. Sano sighed: she'd been found. But the principal kept barking at her to halt. Sano almost began to laugh. She was running. Then he sobered. While the vice principal had little to no chance of catching her, he could still corner her somewhere, and then it didn't matter how fast she was. Sano reached out as she ran past and caught her up tight. Mizuki rammed into him with a solid _whump _and a stifled gasp. Immediately she squirmed to get free, but he shushed her softly and melted into the shadows of the corner. He could barely contain his laughter as the pudgy principal shuffled past, panting hard and still shouting raspily for Mizuki to stop running. The door to the stairs crashed open and closed again.

Sano burst out laughing. He clung to her shoulders for support as he gasped for air. "You little fool!"

"What?" Mizuki blinked. Stepping away from him, she began stretching her legs, trying to keep the acid from building in the muscles. She wasn't even winded from her short sprint.

"You ran! If you'd gotten caught, you would've been suspended for sure!" He anxiety at her returning home, his unexpressed feelings for her, his frustration at Nakatsu's thick-headedness—it all found an outlet when he thought of the irony of a possible suspension when she was going halfway around the world in a few days anyway. Their situation wasn't funny, but for some reason he found it hysterical.

Awkwardly she patted his head. "We're okay now, you can stop laughing… Hey… Are you even listening to me? Oi!" She thumped him solidly on the back of the head. "Stop laughing, you'll wake up the whole dorm!"

Slowly he straightened and coughed to clear his throat. Eyes bright, he smiled and touched her hair. "Let's go home."

Though still somewhat confused, she grinned and followed him. _I guess we're okay now…_


End file.
